More than seven in 10 adults say the United States’ future is a major source of stress. Election anxiety is real: Americans report that they are more anxious about the election results than they were in previous years. This is understandable given the current climate of fear about threats to democracy. But the truth is, our elections are safe and secure.
While exit polls and initial analysis may show a clear winner, news outlets do not call races until almost all ballots have been counted, which can take days or weeks after the fact. Even then, a “call” remains an unofficial prediction. News outlets track progress towards completed vote counting and update their projections based on the data they receive from local election officials and state offices.
Once the initial count is complete, election officials take multiple steps to verify the accuracy of the official results before they can be certified. This process includes a review of clerical errors, checking that every valid ballot has been counted, and re-examination of provisional ballots.
If a trailing candidate believes that the final results are incorrect, they can request a recount of all or part of the ballots. Recounts are conducted by hand or machine, and can include a re-examination of the ballots one by one or a review of the ballot tally files to make sure that all valid votes were accounted for. Depending on the state, recounts may be contested by both candidates or only one.
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